The “Rausch” chandelier is a multifunctional lighting tool that transforms the Theater an der Ruhr’s 19th-century foyer into a versatile “digital foyer”. Designed by Lucespazio in close collaboration with the artistic, financial, and technical management, the installation ad-dresses the theater’s need for a lighting system that respects the building’s historical status while enabling diverse event types and accommodating different users.
Key features of the chandelier include:
1. Nine custom luminaires, each measuring 2.5m square, forming a grid that mirrors the ceiling’s frieze patterns and ornate proportions to deliver an array of lighting tools for pre-cise spatial definition and emotional manipulation.
2. Raw, exposed LED boards that focally act as both light source and minimalist design ele-ment, echoing Grotowski’s “poor theatre” concept by revealing the fixture’s mechanics to enhance the actor-audience connection.
3. Tensegrity construction to meet weight restrictions and historical building constraints through:
• A 0.5m central rod that compresses three lighting plates and a concealed driver tray, clearing projection lines to the walls for full-height video display.
• A 10m lighting track tensioned by power cables flexibly housing zoom spots, wall wash-ers, miniature profilers, and fixed RGBWA ambient lighting.
4. Casambi Bluetooth with DMX capabilities enables versatile lighting scenarios, accommo-dating both non-technical users and professionals while preserving the listed ceiling’s orig-inal wiring.
5. Versatile Lighting Quality through:
• Dynamic RGBWA hues for avant-garde performances, concerts, and multimedia art in-stallations
• High CRI soft white lighting for conventional productions, gala events, and art exhibi-tions
• High-visibility lighting for construction workshops
Created to facilitate Theater an der Ruhr’s “Rausch” program—exploring the nature and boundaries of perception and consciousness—this industrial sci-fi art deco intervention enables the theater to expand its artistic and cultural offerings while preserving the build-ing’s heritage.
